Before the NSA started documenting what we ate for breakfast and what time we went to the restroom in the morning, you could still get away with building things and dreaming big around here. Such was the case with a guy named Donald Roebling who grew up as a rich kid in New Jersey and went on to invent a vehicle called “The Allligator”. The Alligator was originally intended as a rescue vehicle for areas devastated by hurricanes or other natural disasters. Essentially a tank that could float, cruise over trees, and bludgeon its way into any places where it couldn’t roll into, it was an innovative design that worked. You’ll see it in action through the video below but safe it to say, the Alligator was a great idea.
After literally learning about the existence of this thing fr0m a magazine story in LIFE, the Army contacted Reobling and asked if he could make larger versions that could carry more people and/or supplies. Believing that the idea was scalable, Roebling agreed and produced a prototype that was capable of hauling 18 soldiers with gear or 4,500lbs of supplies. Of course, this thing was built without blueprints or engineering drawings of any sort, so it made the next phase of the project slightly slower going that it would have been with the right paperwork but eventually almost 20,000 of the revised Alligators were produced. Their military name was LVT or Landing Vehicle Tracked and they saw duty at places like Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and other important battles where soldiers had to be ferried onto the shore. Revised and upgraded with guns and armor over the years, the humble Alligator was in some form of morphing production into the late 1950s.
In this video we see the original Alligator proving that it is a tough, go anywhere type of vehicle as it climbs over trees, drives off a dock directly into the water, and smashes through stuff. We’re not sure how the fellows in the back of the ‘Gator didn’t fall out during the times it is nearly vertical knocking down the trees! There has to be grab handles back there or something.
We love the fact someone in the Army learned about the existence of this machine in a magazine story and then it went onto become an important part of the WWII war machine. How neat is that?
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE ALLIGATOR AT WORK IN THE FOREST AND THE WATER:
Later to be know as ARGO. Not really, but I could see that happening.
You could show a man pedaling a banana, as long as it’s set to that patriotic music, it will be awesome.
Well I happened to be out pedaling my banana when some clown drove past me with some hideously cheesy music blasting into my ears. The next thing I knew my banana split and I was lying by the side of the road and some clown in a thing that looked like a cross between a tank and a boat drove over my legs….
You could show a man losing his legs in a nasty boat/tank accident, as long as it’s set to that patriotic music, it will be awesome.